Good luck with the sails Mark!
For the future, I know there are some youtube videos on making sails from silk span, with Tom Lauria, if you have no interest in learning how to sew
Luckily for me my wife is handy with the sewing machine and is a good teacher!!
Frank

Michael,
Nice job on the barrels. They certainly add nice detail to your model. I like how you modified them to look more realistic. Question, (for my education )what are the slots that you added to the ends of the barrels for?
Thanks,
Frank

I then stained the hatch covers with a light Oak stain.
Added lifting bolts.
On the larger hatches, I added a bar to lock the covers, per the Fleur De Lis plans.
In this photo, I show the round "handle" to the left of the bar, that the bar slides under.
To the right side, the bar bends down 90 deg. and I created a eyelet and locking pin.
The finished hatches dry fitted to the deck
Now I can turn my attention back to finish tree nailing the deck and applying a stain.
Thanks for visiting!
Frank

Hello,
Continuing on, I finished the hatches.
Here are some photos.
First I cut up some more of the Eastern White Pine I used for the deck.
I fit them and glued them to the top of the hatches from the previous post.
(remember, I used the hatch plans from the Fleur De Lis as a reference, not the Corel plans)
Next, I pre-drilled some holes to accept the tree nails.
In my previous build log, Vasa, I talked about a tree nail making cutter that I have. I have three cutters for a .026 dia, a .035 dia, and one for a .047 dia tree nail. I used the smallest one I had, the .026 dia or .66MM.
Here is a photo of the cutter. The company that made these is out of business.
The cutter is attached to a brass extension tube to allow the wood to pass thru the cutter. The brass piece is screwed onto the Dremel drill.
This photo shows a cover on the cutter, so that when I pass the wood thru, I won't cut my fingers!!
I start by cutting small pieces of wood (.035 by .035) and feed into the cutter to produce the tree nail.
I press the tree nail into the pre-drilled hole with some glue, cut and sand down.

Hello,
Before I finish stain the deck, I want to add the tree nails to the joints. Before adding the tree nails, I needed to layout where the hatches would be located, so I decided to go ahead and start work on the hatches.
I noticed some differences in the Corel plans for the "Reale" and the "La Fleur de Lis" plans. The covers for the "Reale" hatches are recessed down in the hatch. On the "Fleur de Lis" plans, the hatch covers are almost flush with the top of the hatch walls and they show lifting rings and a locking bar across the larger hatches. So I decided to try and make the hatches this way, (more detail) but I kept the dimensions (LxWxH) of the Corel plans, so that I won't cause myself any problems later!
I re-made the inside spacer blocks higher, (so the hatch cover can sit near the top). I also reduced the length and width by 2 mm (1mm each side). The "Reale" plans call for the hatch sides to be 1 mm thick. I made them 2mm thick instead (stronger to work with) and I milled out a 1mm step at the top.
This photo shows the hatch walls with the 1mm milled at the top. I also created a joint step at each corner, instead of making a 45 deg joint that the Corel plans call for.
I also made the 2 boxes that the main anchor lines go down into. (The line goes thru the hole into the deck.)
The hatch walls assembled around the filler block
Hole drilled into deck, where the anchor line will go into.
Another minor complication. The deck is not flat, but pitches from both the bow and stern towards the center and down from the center to the edge (camber), so I had to grind the bottom of the hatches to fit properly
An assembled hatch, with 1mm step milled out, ready for the hatch cover.
Painted hatches and test fitted to the deck
Now I will begin to finish the hatches by making the top covers, staining the covers, and adding some hardware.
Thanks for stopping by,
Frank

Thank you for your kind comments.
I would love it if you followed along and any suggestions would be most welcome.
I am currently working on the deck hatches and I hope to post my updates early next week!
Thanks to everyone for visiting and the "Likes"!!!
Frank

Continuing on,
There is a long thin notched plank that lays against the taller plank already installed.
these are the supports for the seats that will be installed later.
I had to file and shift this piece so that the seat notches aligned properly to the upper notches in the taller piece.
Han Solo very interested in my work!!
Thanks again for the likes and for visiting,
Frank

Hello!
I have started work on the main deck.
First was to install the forward and stern yokes.
Getting these two pieces right is important, I feel, because all the other deck supports will be positioned and aligned between these two yokes.
Trial fit of the fwd yoke
Trial fit of the stern yoke
Painted and installed yokes
Next was to make and install the 2 bitts near the bow.
The Corel plans show the beam in the photo below just laying on top of the 2 bitts.
This didn't look right to me. I check the plans on the Fleur di Lis (Gerard Delacroix) and it showed that the bitts were stepped into the upper beam. So I left the bitts 2 mm higher (as shown in the photo) and I will later notch that upper beam to accept the bitts
Finished Bitts, Painted and Installed.
Thanks for visiting,
Frank

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